How terrorists use technology to scheme and attack

The great virtues of the Internet – ease of access, lack of regulation, vast potential audiences, and fast flow of information, among others – have been turned to the advantage of groups committed to terrorising societies to achieve their goals.

For years, the extremists have used online forums to share information and drum up support. They have developed systems that blend encryption programmes with anonymity software to cover their tracks.

Their technology may now be so sophisticated and secretive, experts say, that many communications avoid detection by National Security Agency programmes that designed to uncover terror plots.

Terrorism on the Internet is also very dynamic: websites suddenly emerge, frequently modify their formats, and then swiftly disappear – or, in many cases, seem to disappear by changing their online address but retaining much the same content.

They also adapt changing technology easily. You may recall that a couple of years ago, leaders of terrorist groups used to send tapes to media houses to relay information about their threats. Nowadays, they share videos on the Internet.

To exchange information, terrorists have exploited disposable cellular phones, over the counter long-distance calling cards, Internet cafes, and other means of anonymous communications.

Embedding information in digital pictures and graphics is another innovation employed to enable the clandestine global communication that modern terrorists require.

In last week’s Kenya attack, the Al-Shabaab used their Twitter account to communicate nearly on minute by minute basis.

They launched this account on December 7, 2011 and since then, they have thousands of followers notwithstanding that the account is often closed by authorities but they are able to open another variant almost immediately.

The Al-Shabaab account features a number of tweets extolling jihadist activities.

IMPROVING THEIR SOPHISTICATION

For example, the account was suspended last year after the group tweeted a link to a video of two Kenyan hostages who they threatened to kill unless the Kenyan government released all Muslim prisoners in its jails.

In the case of Westgate attack, Twitter suspended five of Al-shabaab’s accounts throughout the weekend, but Al-Shabaab continued to open new ones. And each new account received thousands of followers almost immediately.

Terrorists are improving their sophistication and abilities in virtually all aspects of their operations and support. The aggressive use of modern technology for information management, communication and intelligence has increased the efficiency of these activities.

Weapons technology has become increasingly available, and the well-funded terrorist is able to equal or exceed the sophistication of governmental counter-measures.

In addition, terrorists are taking note of the proliferation of hacking and the use of the computer as a weapon. The widespread availability of hacking software and its anonymous and increasingly automated design make it likely that terrorists will more frequently incorporate these tools into their online activity.

There is some debate within the counterterrorism community about how to combat terrorist sites. One approach officials have taken is to create phony terrorist websites.

These can spread disinformation, such as instructions for building a bomb that will explode prematurely and kill its maker or false intelligence about the location of people they target, and instead lead terrorist fighters into a trap.

The tools to change the world are in everybody’s hands. How we use them is not just up to me, it’s up to all of us. Terrorists have shown their ability to take up technological arms to harm the general populace.

This calls for increased vigilance on the part of ordinary citizens.

Sam Wambugu is a monitoring and evaluation specialist. [email protected]